Contact with the Dead, Religion, and Death Anxiety among Older Mexican Americans

Krause, Neal; Bastida, Elena

Death Studies, v36 n10 p932-948 2012

The purpose of this study is to see if contact with the dead is associated with lower death anxiety among older Mexican Americans. The data come from a nationwide survey of older Mexican Americans (N = 1,005). The study model specifies that (a) older Mexican Americans who have experienced contact with the dead are more likely to see the connectedness that exists among all people; (b) seeing that all people are one promotes feelings of grateful to God; (c) gratitude toward God is, in turn, associated with lower death anxiety. The findings support each of these relationships. (Contains 1 footnote, 2 tables and 1 figure.)